NBA Rumors: The NBA is about to allow high schoolers back in the NBA Draft.
There was a time when high schoolers became almost a staple for every NBA Draft. And, in fact, some of the best players during the late-1990s to early-2000s declared for the NBA Draft straight out of high school. A few that come to mind are Kobe Bryant, Amar’e Stoudemire, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, and Dwight Howard.
However, during the 2005 collective bargaining agreement between the players and owners, high schoolers were no longer ruled eligible for the NBA Draft. Instead, players eligible for the NBA Draft had to be one year removed from high school.
The NBA is primed to change a rule in the NBA Draft
And that rule has been in effect for the past 17 years. However, that could change soon. According to a recent report, the NBA is expected to allow players to come straight out of high school and declare for the NBA Draft once again.
If it does in fact happen, it would likely go into effect during the 2024 NBA Draft. It would vastly change the dynamic of the NBA Draft and make the pool even wider for teams.
But it won’t just have an impact on the NBA. It will also make waves at the collegiate level. On one hand, while it could make the NBA Draft that much more difficult to navigate, it could make the college product better.
For one, you would have players enrolling in college because they want to – and not because they’re forced to. Of course, you would still have a few players that elect to go the one-and-done route via college. But you will also have more players that would be more likely to commit to more than one year in college.
And that would be huge for college basketball.
One of the biggest gripes of the recent college product is that players are constantly shuffling in and out of the lineups, especially for the bigger brand colleges. By the time you get used to a player, especially those that are highly touted, they leave for the NBA.
Again, that will still likely happen in some instances, but to a much lesser degree. Or at least you would assume.
Either way, it seems like a big change is coming to the NBA Draft. And it could happen fairly soon.